wanker starter problems

[rjmorel]

I bought a used 2013 Connect with around 64,000 miles on it. everything worked great on it. Then the starter started acting up. Turn key and starter would click but not engage. If I held key on sometimes it would engage and start. 3 remanufactured starters later all lasting 400-600 miles but lifetime warranty I got tired of it and told mechanic to put in a brand new starter. It lasted 4000 miles and now is dead. Mechanic has checked battery and all relays that pertain to the starter. He said that it was the cheap metal they put in the solenoid arcs over then doesn't make connection. He's seen it in other cars also. Is there something else that could be making the starter solenoid die early? I'm baffled and tired of getting stranded by an otherwise nice little van.

Do other connects have this problem?

I have a friend that has a 2012 connect with 154,000 miles on it and has original starter working just fine.

thanks rj

[Beta Don]

The solenoid atop the starter motor does two things.  It pushes a spring loaded copper disk against the two contacts to make the starter motor run and at the same time, it slides the gear along the starter shaft so it will engage the teeth on the flywheel or flex plate to turn over the engine.  If there's a problem with the way the teeth engage, that might keep the copper disc from making a good connection to turn the starter motor

 

I would check the teeth on the flywheel or flex plate (likely a flex plate on a TC as they're all automatics and the torque converter bolts to a flex plate, not a flywheel) and see what shape the teeth are in.  Some engines come to rest in the same place every time you shut them off, so the starter ends up engaging the same few teeth every time you start it.  Maybe those teeth are bad and the flex plate needs changing.  Some starters need to be adjusted (usually with shims) to make the teeth on the starter engage the teeth on the flex plate correctly.  One time, many years ago, I had an SS 396 Chevelle with was literally destroying starter motor every few hundred miles  -  It was actually breaking the starter motor shaft near the end where it mated with the flywheel.  This baffled everybody who saw it or worked on it.  Come to find out, a 396 expert told us that the starter doesn't just get bolted to the engine block, but it gets shimmed to work properly.  Once it was properly installed, no more problems!

 

Don't know that much about Gen 1 TC's or Focuses, but there are people who do and that's who you need to talk to about this.  Obviously, starters last most TC's for 100K or more, so the fact that you are going through them every few hundred miles is an anomaly, and there *is* a unique reason why this is happening . . . . and it's NOT that the starters are using cheap metal in them

 

Don  

[rjmorel]

I agree Don, something isn't right.

[zalienz]

My experiences with multiple failed starters leads almost always to the same cause - Voltage Drop. You should do a voltage drop test on the starter circuit, or a technician of your choosing should perform this test. Generally, acceptable voltage drop is 0.1 volt per connection. Anything more than that can stop solenoids from engaging, or burn up the starter motor with low voltage and high amperage. Start with the battery, and then check the cables. This video is a good overview. Good luck!

 

 

[rjmorel]

So the last starter I had put in lasted 1 day then left me stranded. I thought no way can there be that many bad starters (4) in a row. Since I was stranded I got out the owners manual and looked for all the fuses and relays that had to do with starting. Found them under the hood. There was a relay for the starter circuit and 2 more just like it next to the starter one with the same part numbers. So I swapped them around and it has been starting consistently  now for 2 months.  $24 relay was the problem. Nothing else has been acting up and I don't remember where I put the original starter relay into.

 Whoda thought?

[rjmorel]

Nope, not fixed,  the last starter went 1500 miles after swapping the relays then died. Now what?

Edited October 1, 2020 by rjmorel

[rjmorel]

On 10/1/2020 at 9:21 AM, rjmorel said:

Nope, not fixed,  the last starter went 1500 miles after swapping the relays then died. Now what?

So for the past 2 years when it acts up and wont start, I just switch the relays in motor compartment around again and it starts right up and runs for months. Fickel Turkey van I guess. At least now I can get going again in 5 min.